This is a diet made popular by Tim Ferris. You can eat as much as you want, whenever you want, as long as the food consumed belongs to one of the following three staples:
- Meat
- Vegetables
- Legumes
The theory is that by avoiding white carbs, sugars, and processed foods, you are no longer spiking your glycemic index and adding fat to your body. This allows you to start burning any fat “reserves” accumulated over the years.
Protein
“Eating 30g protein within the first 30 minutes of waking up helps to kickstart your metabolism into high gear each day. If you wait too long, you miss a critical window of opportunity.”
Fruit
“Fruit is ok in moderation when you are in maintenance mode and not trying to lose weight. But if you are trying to lose weight it will halt the fat loss process. Fructose is converted to glycerol phosphate which is then converted to fat very efficiently.”
Cheat Day
One day per week you can binge to your hearts delight. If you desire, cram buckets of twinkies down your throat until cream oozes out your pores. Others however, opt for a single cheat “meal” per week. It is up to you.
The purpose of a cheat day is to shock the metabolism back into the fat burning zone. The calorie spike helps maintain a healthy thyroid. And for those with little to no willpower (which on a long enough timeline, is everyone) a cheat day helps prevent complete abandonment of the diet…
Exercise
“I think squats/pushups prior to your biggest meal should be done every day, not just on cheat day. It’s a 2 minute workout, and I think has helped me the most.”
Baseline
Skipping SCD meals or under-eating can side track progress. Small mistakes can add up quickly. Be extremely strict with the diet for the first two weeks, to the letter. This should establish a baseline of weight loss, from which you start experimenting if desired.